David Farragut
|died = |image= |caption= |nickname= |placeofbirth= Campbell's Station, Tennessee |placeofdeath= Portsmouth, New Hampshire |placeofburial= Woodlawn Cemetery (The Bronx) |placeofburial_label= Place of burial |allegiance= United States of America Union |branch= United States Navy |serviceyears= 1810–70 |rank= Admiral |commands=European Squadron Western Gulf Blockading Squadron |battles= *War of 1812 *USS Essex vs HMS Phoebe *American Civil War *Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip *Battle of New Orleans *Siege of Vicksburg *Siege of Port Hudson *Battle of Mobile Bay |awards= |relations= |laterwork= }} David Glasgow Farragut (July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and full admiral of the Navy. He is remembered in popular culture for his order at the Battle of Mobile Bay, usually paraphrased: "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" Davis, p. 682. [http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/qyd/media.asp Reuters] by U.S. Navy tradition. Early life and naval career Farragut was born to Jorge Farragut and Elizabeth Shine Farragut at Lowe's Ferry on the Holston (now Tennessee) River a few miles southeast of Campbell's Station, near Knoxville, Tennessee, where his family lived. His father operated the ferry and was a cavalry officer in the Tennessee militia. Jorge Farragut, a Spanish merchant captain from Minorca, son of Antoni Farragut and Joana Mesquida, had previously joined the American Revolutionary cause after arriving in America in 1776. Jorge Farragut married Elizabeth Shine (b.1765 - d.1808) from North Carolina and moved west to Tennessee after serving in the American Revolution. David's birth name was James, but it was changed in 1812, following his adoption by future naval Captain David Porter in 1808 (which made him the foster brother of future Civil War Admiral David Dixon Porter and Commodore William D. Porter). Farragut entered the US Navy as a midshipman in 1810. At 12 years old while serving in the War of 1812 he received his first command, a captured British whaling ship. Farragut was wounded and captured during the cruise of the Essex by HMS Phoebe in Valparaiso Bay, Chile on March 28, 1814. He had a son named Loyall Farragut by his second wife, Virginia Loyall. Mare Island In 1853, Secretary of the Navy James C. Dobbin selected Commander David G. Farragut to create Mare Island Naval Shipyard. In August 1854, Farragut was called to Washington from his post as Assistant Inspector of Ordinance at Norfolk, Virginia. President Franklin Pierce congratulated Farragut on his naval career and the task he was to undertake. September 16, 1854, Commander Farragut commissioned the Mare Island Naval Yard at Vallejo, California. Mare Island became the port for ship repair on the West Coast. Captain Farragut left command of Mare Island, July 16, 1858. Farragut returned to a hero’s welcome at Mare Island, August 11, 1859. Civil War Though living in Norfolk, Virginia, prior to the Civil War, he made it clear to all who knew him that he regarded secession as treason. Just before the war's outbreak he moved with his Southern-born wife to Hastings-on-Hudson, a small town just outside New York City. He offered his services to the Union but was initially given just a seat on the Naval Retirement Board. Offered a command for a special assignment by his foster brother David Dixon Porter, he initially hesitated upon learning the target might be Norfolk, as he had friends and relatives living there; he eventually accepted and was relieved to learn the target was New Orleans. Doubts were raised by the Navy about Farragut's loyalty to the Union because of his southern birth as well as that of Mrs. Farragut. Porter, however, argued on Farragut's behalf, and Farragut accepted for the major role of freeing New Orleans from Confederate control.John D. Winters, The Civil War in Louisiana, Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 1963, ISBN: 0-8071-0834-0, p. 56 In command of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, with his flag on the [[USS Hartford (1858)|USS Hartford]], in April 1862, after a heavy bombardment, he ran past Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip and the Chalmette, Louisiana, batteries to take the city and port of New Orleans, Louisiana on April 29, a decisive event in the war. Congress honored him by creating for him the rank of rear admiral on July 16, 1862, a rank never before used in the U.S. Navy. Before this time, the American Navy had resisted the rank of admiral, preferring the term "flag officer", to separate it from the traditions of the European navies. Later that year he passed the batteries defending Vicksburg, Mississippi. Farragut had no real success at Vicksburg; one makeshift Confederate ironclad forced his flotilla of 38 ships to withdraw in July 1862. While he was a very aggressive commander, Farragut was not always cooperative. At the Siege of Port Hudson the plan was that Farragut's flotilla would pass by the guns of the Confederate stronghold with the help of a diversionary land attack by the Army of the Gulf, commanded by General Nathaniel Banks, to commence at 8:00 am on March 15, 1863. Farragut unilaterally decided to move the timetable up to 9:00 pm on March 14, and initiated his run past the guns before Union ground forces were in position. By doing so, the uncoordinated attack allowed the Confederates to concentrate on Farragut's flotilla and inflict heavy damage on his warships. Farragut's battle group was forced to retreat with only two ships able to pass the heavy cannon of the Confederate bastion. After surviving the gauntlet, Farragut played no further part in the battle for Port Hudson, and General Banks was left to continue the siege without advantage of naval support. The Union Army made two major attacks on the fort, and both were repulsed with heavy losses. Farragut's flotilla was splintered, yet was able to blockade the mouth of the Red River with the two remaining warships; he could not efficiently patrol the section of the Mississippi between Port Hudson and Vicksburg. Farragut's decision thus proved costly to the Union Navy and the Union Army, which suffered its highest casualty rate of the Civil War at Port Hudson. Vicksburg surrendered on July 4, 1863, leaving Port Hudson as the last remaining Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. General Banks accepted the surrender of the Confederate garrison at Port Hudson on July 9, 1863, ending the longest siege in US military history. Control of the Mississippi River was the centerpiece of Union strategy to win the war, and with the surrender of Port Hudson the Confederacy was now severed in two. On August 5, 1864, Farragut won a great victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay. Mobile was then the Confederacy's last major port open on the Gulf of Mexico. The bay was heavily mined (tethered naval mines were known as torpedoes at the time) http://www.nps.gov/archive/vick/visctr/sitebltn/damntorp.htm. Farragut ordered his fleet to charge the bay. When the monitor [[USS Tecumseh (1863)|USS Tecumseh]] struck a mine and sank, the others began to pull back. Farragut could see the ships pulling back from his high perch, lashed to the rigging of his flagship, the USS Hartford. "What's the trouble?" was shouted through a trumpet from the flagship to the [[USS Brooklyn (1858)|USS Brooklyn]]. "Torpedoes!" was shouted back in reply. "Damn the torpedoes!" said Farragut, "Four bells. Captain Drayton, go ahead! Jouett, full speed!" Loyall Farragut, pp. 416–17. The bulk of the fleet succeeded in entering the bay. Farragut then triumphed over the opposition of heavy batteries in Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines to defeat the squadron of Admiral Franklin Buchanan. Farragut was promoted to vice admiral on December 21, 1864, and to admiral on July 25, 1866, after the war. His last active service was in command of the European Squadron from 1867 to 1868, with the screw frigate [[USS Franklin (1864)|USS Franklin]] as his flagship. Farragut remained on active duty for life, an honor accorded to only six other US naval officers.The others were his foster brother David Dixon Porter, George Dewey, William Leahy, Ernest King, Chester Nimitz, and William Halsey. Death Farragut died at the age of sixty-nine in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, from a stroke while on vacation in the late summer of 1870. He is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery, in the Bronx borough of New York. in downtown Washington, D.C. The National Park Service interpretive plaque in the foreground prominently quotes his famous order.]] off Fifth Avenue in New York City]] to commemorate David Farragut]] ; ~ U.S.S. Powhatan ]]' ; In memoriam Numerous places and things are named in remembrance of Admiral Farragut: *Admiral Farragut Academy is a college preparatory school with Naval training founded in 1933 by Navy Admirals in Pine Beach, New Jersey. In 1945 the current and now only campus opened in St. Petersburg, Florida. In 1946 it was designated by Congress as a Naval Honor School.Admiral Farragut Academy website *Farragut, Tennessee, Admiral Farragut's hometown of Campbell's Station (see Battle of Campbell's Station), Tennessee, was renamed Farragut when it became incorporated in 1982. Admiral Farragut was actually born at Lowe's Ferry on the Holston (now Tennessee) River a few miles southeast of the town, but at that time Campbell's Station was the nearest settlement. *Farragut High School was built at Admiral Farragut's home town of Campbell's Station (now Farragut) in 1904. Today Farragut High School, boasting nearly 2,500 students, is one of the largest schools in Tennessee. The school's colors are blue and white, and its sporting teams are known as "The Admirals." *Farragut Field is a sports field at the United States Naval Academy. *Farragut Career Academy in Chicago, Illinois is a high school in the Chicago Public Schools system that was founded in 1894; its sporting teams are also known as the Admirals. The school displays an oil painting of the admiral, presented to the school by the Farragut Post of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1896. NBA star Kevin Garnett attended Farragut Career Academy. *Farragut, Iowa is a small farming town in southwestern Iowa. Admiral Farragut's famous slogan greets visitors from a billboard on the edge of town. The local school, Farragut Community High School, fields varsity "Admiral" and JV "Sailor" teams. The school also houses memorabilia from the ships that have borne the Farragut name. * Five US Navy destroyers have been named [[USS Farragut|USS ''Farragut]], including two class leaders. * *Farragut Square, a park in Washington, D.C.; the square lends its name to two nearby Metro stations: Farragut North and Farragut West. *Two U.S. postage stamps: the $1 stamp of 1903 and a $0.32 stamp in 1995. *$100-dollar Treasury notes, also called Coin notes, of the Series 1890 and 1891, feature portraits of Farragut on the obverse. The 1890 Series note is called a $100 Watermelon Note by collectors, because the large zeroes on the reverse resemble the pattern on a watermelon. *A stained glass window in the United States Naval Academy Chapel depicts Farragut in the rigging of USS Hartford at Mobile Bay. *David Glasgow Farragut High School is the U.S. Department of Defense High School located on the Naval Station in Rota, Spain. Their sporting teams are also known as "The Admirals". * Farragut Parkway in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. * Farragut Middle School in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. * A grade school in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. * A grade school (PS 44) in the Bronx. *Farragut State Park in Idaho, which was used as a naval base for basic training during World War II. *A hotel in Minorca at Cala'n Forcat. *A bust in full Naval regalia on the top floor of the Tennessee State Capitol. *Admiral Farragut condominium on waterway in Coral Gables, Florida. * Farragut elementary school in Vallejo Ca. Located just outside the Mare Island Gate. * A monument is located off Northshore Drive in Concord, Tennessee. The monument reads "BIRTHPLACE OF ADMIRAL FARRAGUT/BORN JULY 5, 1801 . . . DEDICATED BY ADMIRAL DEWEY, MAY 15, 1900".Neely, Jack. Knoxville's Secret History, page 17. Scruffy City Publishing, 1995. * The Farragut House bar/restaurant located in South Boston, Massachusetts. * A larger than life statue near the beach in South Boston, Massachusetts. * U.S.S. Farragut. Star Trek The Original Series. Monuments *Madison Square Park, New York City, by Augustus Saint Gaudens, 1881, replica in Cornish, New Hampshire, 1994 *Farragut Square, Washington, D.C., by Vinnie Ream, 1881 *Marine Park, Boston Massachusetts, by Henry Hudson Kitson, 1881 *Hackley Park, Muskegon, Michigan, by Charles Niehaus, 1900 Contemporary uses in popular culture, Representation in art and literature *A "Commodore Farragut", who is clearly based on David Farragut, appears in Jules Verne's 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. *In the fictional television series Star Trek, a number of Starfleet starships are named Farragut. *The album ''Damn the Torpedoes'' by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is named after David Farragut's famous quote. *The album MDFMK by MDFMK contains a song entitled "Damn the Torpedoes". *In the comedy film Galaxy Quest, Tim Allen's character says "Never give up! Never surrender! Damn the resonance cannons! Full speed ahead!" *In her 2010 spoken-word debut Olivia Hedrick released a track "How I love thee Mister Farragut" *In the 1943 film The More the Merrier, Charles Coburn views the famous quote on a statue, and uses the phrase as a motto; it drives the plot forward. *In the video game The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, there is a Fort Farragut. Command history * 1812, assigned to the Essex. * 1815 – 1817, served in the Mediterranean Sea aboard the Independence and the Macedonian. * 1818, studied ashore for nine months at Tunis. * 1819, served as a lieutenant on the Shark. * 1823, placed in command of the Ferret. * 1825, served as a lieutenant on the Brandywine. * 1826 – 1838, served in subordinate capacities on various vessels. * 1838, placed in command of the sloop Erie. * 1841, attained the rank of commander. ]]*Mexican-American War, commanded the sloop of war, Saratoga. * 1848 – 1850, duty at Norfolk, Navy Yard in Virginia. * 1850 – 1854, duty at Washington, D.C. * 1855, attained the rank of Captain. * 1854 – 1858, duty establishing Mare Island Navy Yard at San Francisco Bay. * 1858 – 1859, commander of the sloop of war Brooklyn. *American Civil War,Commmander of the fleets * 1860 – 1861, stationed at Norfolk Navy Yard. * January 1862, commanded USS Hartford and the West Gulf blockading squadron of 17 vessels. * April 1862, took command of occupied New Orleans. *July 16, 1862, promoted to rear admiral. *June 23, 1862, wounded near Vicksburg, Mississippi. * May 1863, commanded USS Monongahela. * May 1863, commanded the USS Pensacola. * July 1863, commanded USS Tennessee. *September 5, 1864, offered command of the North Atlantic Blocking Squadron, but he declined. *December 21, 1864, promoted to vice admiral. * April 1865, pallbearer for the funeral of Abraham Lincoln. *July 25, 1866, promoted to admiral. * June 1867, commanded USS Franklin. * 1867 – 1868, commanded European Squadron. See also *Naval battles of the American Civil War *Hispanics in the United States Navy *Hispanic Admirals in the United States Navy *Hispanics in the American Civil War References 7 Lott,Arnold S. A Long Line of Ships: Mare Island's Century of Naval Activity in California. Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute Press, 1954. External links *National Park Service biography and Vicksburg battle info *Farragut biography on navy.mil *Idaho's Farragut State Park *Admiral Farragut Academy Alumni Site Category:1801 births Category:1870 deaths Category:United States Navy admirals Category:Union Navy admirals Category:United States military personnel of the War of 1812 Category:War of 1812 prisoners of war Category:People of Tennessee in the American Civil War Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American people of Spanish descent Category:People from Knoxville, Tennessee Category:Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (The Bronx) Category:Jules Verne characters Category:American folklore Category:Jules Verne bg:Дейвид Фарагът ca:David Farragut co:David Glasgow Farragut da:David G. Farragut de:David Glasgow Farragut et:David Farragut es:David Farragut fr:David Farragut it:David G. 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